Join The Celebration With the Taste of the Market Common and More on April 21
by Melissa LaScaleia
This April marks the tenth anniversary of the Market Common, and to celebrate, the Market Common office is hosting a big bash with fun for the whole family. The 10th Year Anniversary Celebration will be held on Saturday, April 21, in the Market Common commercial district.
“A milestone like a ten year anniversary gives one time to reflect on how far the Market Common has come, what a great plan it was, and how wonderful it has turned out. We will continue to evolve as we strive to meet our residents’ and visitors’ needs,” says Heather Gray, the general manager of the Market Common in an interview with the Insider.
“We’re incorporating the Taste of the Market Common event into the celebration,” says Katherine Taylor, one of the organizers of the party. “It was so popular last year, we thought it would be a great idea to celebrate with it.”
Katherine recently relocated to North Carolina with her family, but previously worked in the marketing department at the Market Common office. The 10th Anniversary celebration was one of the last, and she felt, best projects she worked on. She, Heather Gray, and Halé Richardson, the corporate director of marketing, all collaborated jointly to plan for this commemorative celebration.
There will be a huge birthday cake in front of the Grand 14, compliments of the Market Common, and they will be giving away promotional items throughout the day. Farmers market vendors will be on Howard Avenue selling produce and other edible sundries as a prelude of what is to come during the summer months. There will be complimentary carriage rides, musical acts throughout the downtown area, and sidewalk sales hosted by the area’s stores. There will also be bouncy houses, balloon art, and face painting. Since the event will take place at the finale of the Myrtle Beach International Film Festival, there will be photo ops with a production slate and an oversized director’s chair in front of the movie theater. And then there’s the star of the show, the Taste of the Market Common.
The Taste is much what it sounds like– the chance for participants to taste culinary delights from many of the area’s downtown restaurants including: Co Sushi, Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar, The Brass Tap, Cold Stone Creamery, Tupelo Honey Cafe, Gordon Biersch, King Street Grill, Nacho Hippo, and Peace, Love and Little Donuts, all at one go. Each restaurant is enticed to create the best of what they can offer in one of three categories— appetizer, entree, and dessert.
There will be menus available at two ticket booths the day of the event so you can plan the scale of your tasting. Each ticket costs $1, and each menu item costs a select number of tickets. Each restaurant that you taste at will sign off on your restaurant card, and when you’re finished, submit your card back at the ticket booth for your chance to be entered in a grand prize drawing. Taste at one, get entered once; taste at five or more, and you’re entered twice.
All of the revenue from the Taste goes back to the restaurants, so the event is designed to be fun for participants while supporting the local economy. There’s also an opportunity for people to vote for their favorite. The restaurant that has the most votes in each category will win bragging rights as well as free marketing courtesy of the Market Common office— incentives for all to be preparing their finest dishes for the event.
“We’re bringing back a fan favorite from last year for the 10th Anniversary celebration because it was so well attended,” Katherine says. “Our plan is to have the Taste of the Market Common be an annual event. We and our restaurants felt that it was successful, and the attendees were happy that they got to come out and sample a little bit from so many restaurants without it costing a fortune.”
Four thousand people attended last year’s Taste. And this year’s double event means that the Market Common office is anticipating quite a crowd.
“All of this works harmoniously to bring an atmosphere of festivity,” Katherine says. “It will be a day to remember at the Market Common. It’s incredibly exciting it see how far we’ve come, and to capstone these ten years with such a nice event. I”m honored to work on it.”
“All the staff are very proud of the Market Common,” Heather says. “We’re passionate about what our center can offer the public. And we all want our customers to have the best customer service when they walk on the property. There’s a lot of gratification in everything that we do, and this anniversary celebration is also a celebration of that— a recognition of our intentions and achievements.”
“I’m very proud of all the behind-the-scenes people who work here at the Market Common,” she continues. “They show up each day with a positive outlook and want to do the best job they can. And I feel that’s because they share a common feeling of pride in the Market Common, of what it is, and what it looks like, that we present to the public.
“A lot of our staff have been here since the opening of the Market Common and that’s something to be proud of and celebrate. Without them, this place would not look and be as well maintained as it is. I think they do a superb job.”
The Market Common hopes this celebration brings people who have always been loyal customers as well as those who have never been here before to explore the beautiful setting, shops and restaurants. The event celebrates ten wonderful years and brings the customers along for that ride, with a thank you for journeying with them.
The Market Common’s 10th Year Anniversary Celebration and Taste of the Market Common Event
The Market Common’s 10th Year Anniversary Celebration and Taste of the Market Common Event will be held Saturday, April 21, from 11am-4pm in the commercial district.
Buy tickets day of for the Taste in front of Grand 14 Cinema on Deville Street or King Street Grille on Howard Avenue.
Part of the celebration: farmers market 10am-4pm;
Complimentary Carriage Rides 12-3pm;
Seacoast Artists Guild’s Arts & Crafts Fair all day in Valor Park.
For more information, visit www.marketcommonmb.com.
